Nine Sols

Originally posted Jun 15. 2024

Probably my favorite game of 2024 so far. It wears its inspirations on its sleeves but it's such an exemplary take on the mechanics its in conversation with. It easily stands on its own merits.

Metal Gear Rising came out in 2013. Sekiro in 2019. Hi-Fi Rush in 2023. We parry sickos don't get a lot of these. I can't recommend this game enough if you're looking for a combat system that situates the parry as one of its core components. It's a really good parry, up there with the best. It's wild how well a 2D metroidvania manages to evoke that Sekiro feeling of tense back and forth that explodes into instantly lethal conclusion. Especially from a studio that has little experience in this genre. I know there's a lot of indie metroidvanias out there but trust me when I say this is the one.

There's a lot about Nine Sols I'd like to praise, including its excellent art, music, fascinating usage of Taoist philosophy, and boss design, but I think the thing that really stands out to me at the end is how well Nine Sols weaves a deeply personal story into a genre that traditionally prioritizes setting over characters. Hollow Knight's narrative largely being, "bear witness to the tragic downfall of this once great civilization" with relatively little focus on the titular Hollow Knight himself is in line with the games it draws from, that being other metroidvanias and Fromsoft's Dark Souls.

Minor Nine Sols spoilers, primarily just the game's premise

In comparison, it's important that you're exploring New Kunlun as Yi, a Solarian (cat)man who carries a great deal of regret in his heart. He has a specific goal and his experiences inform his actions and beliefs, much like Wolf in Sekiro. The tragedy of Nine Sols is twofold; both the fate dealt to the Solarian civilization by its profane attempts to subvert the natural order and how Yi is personally centered at the core of this downfall. How these regrets haunt him and dogmatically drive him toward the closure he seeks, whether that be revenge or redemption.

This actually lends Nine Sols a lot of narrative weight amidst its exploration and frame perfect combat. As the story unfolds, you discover Yi was personally responsible for much of what happens on New Kunlun. He's remorseful, but the deed has been done and now he's forced to witness the rotten fruits of his labor. Positioning Yi as a responsible party in the messed up place you're exploring hits pretty hard as more revelations pile up. This isn't just any old sad fucked up place. It's a sad fucked up place you enabled. It's not enough to simply explore this cool map and beat up the monsters, it is imperative that you make it right no matter the cost. This is your cross to bear, no matter how hard it gets.

It's like if Dark Souls made you play as Artorias, someone directly involved in the creation of the world's current state. It's a cool narrative conceit and one I would love to see attempted more often in this style of game.

By the end of the game, I was fighting bosses so difficult I experienced the specific neck pain and manic flow state I only get when I play games like Sekiro. I found myself driven by both the game's exhilarating combat and a shared sense of responsibility with Yi to destroy this awful monument to Solarian hubris. It kept me motivated when the bosses were getting really harrowing, demanding increasingly frame perfect responses to their complex attack strings. I love the kind of ephemeral clue hunt of setting focused narratives but Nine Sols has convinced me the two can work off each other in ways that strengthen both. I can't imagine a version of Nine Sols without either its intriguing worldbuilding or Yi's compelling character arc. Like the Yin and Yang that feature so prominently in the Taoist philosophy the game draws upon, the game would be incomplete without each.

I greatly enjoyed Hollow Knight on multiple levels. It's a fantastic setting with a great map to explore. Combat's not bad to boot. But I think as time passes Nine Sols will become the new metroidvania to beat in my heart. Its combat is immaculately pure, unconcerned with gimmicks or tricks. It merely demands the absolute mastery of its techniques. You will learn to parry, or die like a dog. Fromsoft will likely never get around to Sekiro 2, but I find it deeply gratifying to see that other developers also thought Sekiro is secretly From's best modern game. Pairing my favorite kind of video game combat with a story that really bowled me over in its final hours, it's a really hard combo to top. It starts strong and only crescendos with every hour toward its thrilling conclusion. I meant what I said at the start, we only get games this tight every few years.

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